Shehecheyanu
by Hebrewletters SL
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14.250 x 11.000 inches
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Title
Shehecheyanu
Artist
Hebrewletters SL
Medium
Painting - Watercolor On Watercolor Paper
Description
SHEHECHEYANU VEKIYEMANU VEHIGIANU LAZEMAN HAZEH – A PRAYER OF GRATITUDE
“Blessed are you Adonai Our God, sovereign of all worlds, who gave us life, and kept us strong, and brought to this time”.
The Hebrew Letters featured in this painting are:
Shin Hey Chet Yud Nun Vav - SHEHECHEYANU – WHO HAS KEPT US ALIVE
Vav Kuf Yud Mem Nun Vav - VEKIYEMANU – SUSTAINED US
Vav Hey Gimel Yud Nun Vav - VEHIGIANU - AND BROUGHT US
[Lamed Zayin Mem Nun LAZEMAN - TO TIME
Hey Zayin Hey - HAZEH – THIS]. Taken together they spell SHEHECHEYANU VEKIYEMANU VEHIGIANU [LAZEMAN HA ZEY].
Each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet has a special meaning and a story to tell. Here a few brief ones about the letters on this painting.
SHIN is the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 300, means TOOTH, YEAR, REPEAT, TEACH. Shin makes the sound SHHHHHH when the DOT is on the right, and SSSS when the DOT is on the left.
There are differing opinions about which components make up the Shin. Kushner states that the Vav makes up the right arm, the Zayin the left, and Yud the middle. In Haralick’s opinion, the Yud is on the right, the Zayin on the left and the Yud in the middle. It is the view of Ginsburgh that the Shin is composed of 3 Vavs, each with a little Yud on its top. So, to make this letter your own, it will be necessary to take it into meditation and come to your own conclusion (Kushner, Lawrence. 1990. The Book of Letters.. Woodstock: Jewish Lights. 72; Haralick, Robert. 1995. The Inner Meaning of the Hebrew Letters.. Northvale: Jason Aronson. 299; Ginsburgh, Yitzchak. 1990. The Hebrew Letters. Jerusalem: Gai Einai. 313).
Shin is one of 7 letters which may be adorned with TAGIN, or little crowns, in the Torah, Tefillin or Mezzuzah scroll. These are called the SHAYNAYZ GAYTZ letters [Shin, Ayin, Tet, Nun, Zayin, Gimmel, and Tsade] Each one of these letters contains a Zayin. A TAG is composed of 3 strokes which themselves look like little Zayins.
There is a wonderful story in Talmud, which describes Moses ascending to Heaven to find God occupied in affixing TAGGIN to the letters of Torah:
Rab Judah said in the name of Rab, When Moses ascended on high he found the Holy One, blessed be He, engaged in affixing coronets to the letters. [These are the Taggin, i.e., three small strokes written on top of the letters ‘Shatnayz Gaytz’ in the form of a crown (Menachoth 29b).
Sepher Yitzirah divides the Hebrew Letters into 3 categories: 3 mothers : Aleph Mem Shin; 7 doubles: Beit Gimel Dalet Caf Pey Resh Tav; and 12 elementals: Hey Vav Zayin Chet Tet Yud Lamed Nun Samech Ayin Tsade Kuf. According to the text, God created the world by means of these letters. The Shin is one of the mothers, that group from which emanated AIR (from Aleph), WATER (from Mem) and FIRE (from Shin). The 3 mothers in the universe are AIR, WATER and FIRE...HEAVEN was created from FIRE, EARTH was created from WATER, and AIR from SPIRIT (WIND) balanced between them. Aleph and Shin spell AISH – FIRE. Aleph represents AIR and Shin, FIRE. FIRE cannot exist without AIR (Sepher Yitzirah. TR. Aryeh Kaplan. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 95, 145, 147, 159, 197).
The Hebrew letters of the word for ‘husband’ are Aleph, Yud and Shin, and for ‘wife’ Aleph, Shin and Hey. The Yud and Hey form the Divine Name; but if omitted, only Aleph and Shin are left which form the word ESH, ‘fire’ (Sotah 17a).
A NIGGUN is a holy TUNE. Meditative chanting is softly singing a NIGGUN over and over again. In this case one could chant the word SHALOM.
But sometimes the Shin takes me for a ride. The middle yud bends over to make a seat and I steer with the left and right Yuds. The Shin loves to race the jet skis in the ocean. Especially since we always win.
HEY is the 5th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 5, means BEHOLD and is constructed of a Dalet and a Yud, makes a sound like the H in Happy. Hey appears twice in the Yud Hey Vav Hey Name of God.
The numerical value of the Hey is five, alluding to the five names of the soul Nephesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, Yechidah (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1979. Tr. The Bahir. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 19).
What is the purpose of the Hey? It is a throne for the Zayin, It is written “for one above the other watches” (Ecclesiastes 5:7) (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1979. Tr. The Bahir. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 19).
The word ‘Behebaram’ in Genesis 2:4, is usually translated “When they were created. In the Torah scroll the Hey in this word drew attention to itself by being smaller than the rest of the letters in the scroll. What significance did this have for the word ’Behebaram’? If this word could be translated WITH A Hey HE CREATED THEM, then that would mean that God created this world by means of the Hey. God did this because the Hey is closed on 3 sides and open on the 4th. This allows those who wish to deviate from the right path to get out through the open 4th side. On the left there is a little space between the leg and the roof. That is there to allow anyone who wishes to repent, to return through that small (Menachot 29b).
The heavens “are the totality of twenty-two letters”. The letter Hey produced the heavens to give them life and to water them and the earth
(Zohar 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:30a).
Hey is the beginning of the Yud Hey Vav Hey meditation. One descends through the Hey, passes through the Vav [sometimes leaving the body safely in the care of the Vav] and continues descending through the second Hey. This an extremely powerful meditation.
CHET is the 8th letter of the alphabet and has a numerical value of 8, is pronounced like the CH in BaCH. Kushner's description is the best that I have found of what is necessary to create the sound of Chet . It is the "top of your throat and the bottom of your throat fighting against one another” (Kushner, Lawrence. 1990. The Book of Letters: Sefer Otiyot.Woodstock: Jewish Lights Publishing. 39).
Usually the Chet is composed of 2 Zayins. But the 16th century kabbalist master, Luria, stated that the Chet consists of a Vav on the right and a Zayin on the left. Each Hebrew letter has a numerical value. GEMATRIA is the numerical manipulation of the values of the letter to explain the meaning of a word or phrase. The combined value of the Vav (6) and Zayin (7) is 13 which is the value of the word ECHAD - Aleph Chet Dalet (4) = 13. ECHAD means ONE. It is also the highest prime denominator of the name of God - Yud (10) Hey(5) Vav (6) Hey (5) = 26 =13 = ONE.
Talmud teaches that if one learns UNDERSTANDING and performs acts of LOVINGKINDNESS for the poor, then God will look upon the person with Chen spelled Chet Nun with FAVOR, GRACE (Shabbat 104a).
[The writing of the letters] must be kethibah tammah [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the… the Chet as a Hey or the Hey as a Chet (Shabbat 103b).
Zayyin Heth Heth Yod Lamed: [this sequence teaches,] and if thou doest thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, will sustain[ Zan] thee, be gracious Hen] unto thee, show goodness[Metiv] to thee, give thee a heritage Yerushah], and bind a crown Keter] on thee in the world to come (Shabbat 104a).
Mishneh Torah is a major halachic (law) work written by Maimonides. In it Rambam explains that there are 10 levels of ANGELS. The Hayyot [Chet Yud Vav Tav] HA KODESH are above all the others. The word Hayyot begins with a Chet and is related to the word Chai [Chet Yud] - LIFE (Mishneh Torah 1981. Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 2:7. Tr. Moses Hyamson. New York: Feldheim. 36a).
In meditation the letter Chet frequently presents itself as a door way. It is safe to go through this particular doorway because it is constructed of a Vav and a Zayin, which, by virtue of their numerical value, allude to the name of God as explained above. It is also possible to ask for an ANGEL to guide one when passing through Chet.
YUD is the 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 10, means HAND, makes a sound like the Y in Year and is a simple point. It is the smallest letter in the alphabet and yet is frequently associated with the very large concept of EMANATION, the highest level in the Four World paradigm of Kabbalah.
Menachot 29b teaches that the WORLD TO COME was created by use of the letter Yud.
Yud has the important job of being the first letter of the Tetragrammaton - Yud Hey Vav Hey. Zohar states that, in this context, the Yud represents the head of all creatures (Zohar. 1984 Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 3:130).
[The writing of the letters] must be ‘kethibah tammah’ [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the… Vav as a Yud or the Yud as a Vav (Shabbat 103b).
[Zayyin Chet Tet Yud Kaf Lamed]: [this sequence teaches,] and if thou doest thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, will sustain[ Zan] thee, be gracious [Hen] unto thee, show goodness [Metiv] to thee, give thee a heritage [Yerushah], and bind a crown [Keter] on thee in the world to come (Shabbat 104a).
When meditating with the YUD, the YUD presents itself right in front of me. It then enters into me right away filling me with a most peaceful feeling. I like to sit with this feeling as long as I can. When I think of the YUD I thing of sitting still.
If you enter meditation and the Yud comes to you, ask Yud a question and wait for the answer. Amazing results. The
Yud is also capable of taking you anywhere in the Universe. Give it a try and let me know the results.
NUN is the 14th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 50, makes a sound like the N in Now, and means SHINE, SPOUT, SPREAD in Hebrew and FISH in Aramaic. The Nun has the head of a Zayin. The body is an elongated Zayin.
The Nun is one of 5 letters: [Caf Mem Nun Pey Tsade] that have 2 forms - the regular [bent] form used in the beginning and middle of a word and the FINAL FORM,- SOFIT, used as the last letter of a word (Shabbat 4a).
According to the ancient kabbalistic text The Bahir, the bent Nun represents the spinal cord through which the body is fed by the brain (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1979. Tr. The Bahir . York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 31).
The final Nun represents, by its shape, man who walks erect, and who mystically combines male and female (Zohar 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:18b-19a. 80).
Nun is one of 7 letters which may be adorned with Tagin, or little crowns, in the Torah, Tefillin, or Mezzuzah scroll. These are called the SHAYNAYZ GAYTZ letters [Shin, Ayin, Tet, Nun, Zayin, Gimmel, and Tsade] Each one of these letters contains a Zayin. A TAG is composed of 3 strokes which themselves look like little Zayins.
There is a wonderful story in Talmud, which describes Moses ascending to Heaven to find God occupied in affixing TAGGIN to the letters of Torah:
Rab Judah said in the name of Rab, When Moses ascended on high he found the Holy One, blessed be He, engaged in affixing coronets to the letters. [These are the Taggin, i.e., three small strokes written on top of the letters Shatnayz Gaytz in the form of a crown (Menachoth 29b).
Ashre, [Psalm 145:1-21), which is arranged alphabetically, save that the verse beginning with the letter Nun (N) is missing. R. Johanan says: Why is there no Nun in Ashre? [Because the fall of the enemies of Israel begins with it [Nephilim]. For it is written: Fallen is ‘nefal’ [Nun Pey Lamed], the virgin of Israel, she shall no more rise (Amos 5:2). R. Nachman b. Isaac says: Even so, David refers to it by inspiration [Literally ‘the Holy Spirit’]. The meaning is, David knew by inspiration that Amos was going to prophesy the downfall of Israel, and he refers to that verse and prophesies their being raised up again, [though their downfall is not mentioned by David] and promises them an uplifting. For it is written: The Lord upholdeth all that fall (Psalm 145:14; Berachot 4b).
Abaye said: he should eat fish, for Samuel said, Nun Samech Ayin [read] ‘Nuna’ [fish] ‘sama’ [are a healing] ‘la-enayim’ [to the eyes]! - That is at the end of the illness [Three letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order] (Nedarim 54b).
The Nun represents nourishment or nurturing tome. It is a gentle letter. In meditation this letter is generally stationary for me. If I want to travel around there are many other letters, Aleph Tet Caf Lamed Mem, to mention just a few. But if I want to be quiet and feel at peace, I ask the NUN to come. I sit in the curve, my head nestled under its head, and it rocks me with tenderness. It soothes my emotions and SHINES through me.
VAV is the 6th letter, has a numerical value of 6, is constructed of a single vertical line, means HOOK and makes a sound like the V in Victory. When used as a vowel, Vav can sound like a long `o’ or a long `u.’ Translated it means AND. It is the GREAT CONNECTOR. Vav appears in the Four Letter name of God - Yud Hey Vav Hey.
“VAV is the sound if beiing joined. And VAV is a the sound of and. One and another” (Kushner, Lawrence. 1990. The Book of Letters: Sefer Otiyot.Woodstock: Jewish Lights Publishing. 35).
The 6 Sephirot represented by the Vav are - Chesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1979. Tr. The Bahir. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 146-172).
What does the letter VAV resemble? It is alluded to in the verse “He spreads out light like a garment” (Psalms 104:5). For VAV is nothing other than six directions [ east, west, north south, up and down]? (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1979. Tr. The Bahir. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 30).
The first word in Torah is Bereshit which t means IN A BEGINNING. If you divide Bereshit into bara and sheet it means HE CREATED SIX [sheet is 6 in Aramaic] Six what? The 6 days in which creation was completed? (Zohar . 1984 Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:3b. 13).
When used as a vowel, Vav can sound like a long `o’ or a long `u.’ Translated it means AND. It is the GREAT CONNECTOR. Vav appears in the Four Letter name of God - Yud Hey Vav Hey
“VAV is the sound if beiing joined. And VAV is a the sound of and. One and another” (Kushner, Lawrence. 1990. The Book of Letters: Sefer Otiyot.Woodstock: Jewish Lights Publishing. 35).
In meditation, the Vav is a place where you can leave your body in order to descend to a deeper place.
KUF is the 19th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 100, makes a sound like the K in Kind and means TO SURROUND, TO TOUCH, MONKEY. There is some disagreement as to what components make up the Kuf. Munk says that it is constructed of a Caf (20) and a Vav (6). This is very nice because it then has a GEMATRIA of 26 which is the same as the Yud (10) Hey(5) Vav (6) Hey (5) name of God (Munk, Michael. 1983. ‘The Wisdom of the Hebrew Alphabet’. New York: Mesorah. 195). Ginsburgh states that the Kuf is formed by a (Shabbat 104a).above and a Zayin descending below. He also points out that the YUD is the only letter suspended in mid-air. The LAMED is the only one that rises above the "ceiling" of the letters. So too is the KUF unique. It is the only one whose regular form descends below the "FLOOR" of the letters (Ginsburgh, Yitzchak. 1990. The Hebrew Letters. Jerusalem: Gai Einei. 283).
Kuf is the voice of an angel calling kadosh kadosh kadosh “Holy holy holy is the Lord of Hosts” (Kushner, Lawrence. 1990. The Book of Letters: Sefer Otiyot. Woodstock: Jewish Lights Publishing. 67).
Kuf stands for KADOSH - HOLY. The foot of the Kuf is suspended to show that the person who repents can return to holiness through the opening between the Zayin and the (Shabbat 104a).
“Kuf [stands for] Kadosh [holy]; Resh [for] Rasha [wicked]: why is the face of the Kuf averted from, the Resh? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I cannot look at the wicked. And why is the crown of the Kuf turned toward the Resh? The Holy One, blessed be He, saith: If he repents, I will bind a crown on him like Mine. And why is the foot of the Kuf suspended? [To show] that if he repents, he can enter and be brought in [to God's favor] through this [opening]. This supports Resh Lakish, for Resh Lakish, said: What is meant by, Surely he scorns the scorners, But he giveth grace unto the lowly If one comes to defile himself, he is given an opening; if one comes to cleanse himself, he is helped” (Shabbat 104a).
I am afraid that my meditations with the Kuf are very un-holy. I sit in the Caf, put my feet on the side of the Zayin and steer with the head of the Zayin. It is sort of a combination plane and go-cart for me. Let me know of your experiences with the Kuf.
MEM is the 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabet , has a numerical value of 40, makes a sound like the M in Middle. But according to the ancient kabbalistic text ‘Sefer Yetzirah,’ the MEM hummmmmms! Mem is composed of a Caf (20) and a Vav (6) = 26, which have the same GEMATRIA as the Four letter name of God, Yud (10) Hey(5) Vav (6) Hey (5) = 26, the holiest of God's Names.
Mem is usually associated with the word mayim - WATER or Eemah - MOTHER.
Tradition tells us that the engraving of the letters of the 10 commandments went all the way through the tablets, from the front side to the back side. Therefore the final Mem since it is completely closed, should have fallen out. . Because it did not, R. Hisda said that it stood there be means of a miracle (Shabbat 104a).
The Mem is one of the 5 letters [Caf Mem Nun Pey Tsade] that have 2 forms - the regular [bent] form used in the beginning and middle of a word and the FINAL FORM, ‘Sofit’, used as the last letter of a word (Shabbat 4a).
One form is used in the beginning and the middle of a word - the open Mem. The other form is at the end of the word - the closed Mem. According to Talmud, the open Mem represents revealed teaching and the closed Mem represents concealed teaching (Shabbat 104a).
It must be ‘kethibah tammah’ [perfect writing]; the Mem as a Samech or the Mem as a Mem, closed [letters] open or open letters closed (Shabbat 103b).
Sometimes when I meditate with this letter, the Mem acts like sort of a submarine for me. At other times I can breathe under water. Nice. Let me know how you do.
GIMEL is the 3rd letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 3, makes a sound like the G in Give, is constructed of a Vav and a Yud means CAMEL or REWARD and is associated the phrase Gemilut Hasadim - ACTS OF LOVINGKINDNESS.
The Bahir, which may be the oldest kabbalistic text, is attributed to R. ben HaKana, a first century kabbalist. In this text, R. Akiva states, the Gimel has "three parts because it BESTOWS, GROWS AND SUSTAINS." The three parts are the head, the tail, and a pipe in the middle through which energy can pass. "The GIMEL draws from above through its head and disperses through its tail” (The Bahir York Beach: Samuel Weiser. lx, 8).
Gimel Dalet, show kindness to the Poor [Gemol Dallim]. Why is the foot of the Gimel stretched toward the Dalet? Because it is fitting for the benevolent to run after [seek out] the poor. And why is the roof of the Dalet stretched out toward the Gimel? Because he [the poor] must make himself available to him. And why is the face of the Dalet turned away from the Gimel? Because he must give him [help] in secret, lest he be ashamed of him. (Shabbat 104a).
When he [a proselyte] went before Hillel, he accepted him as a proselyte. On the first day, he taught him, Aleph Beit Gimel Dalet [the first four letters of the Hebrew alphabet]; the following day he reversed [them, the letters ] to him. ‘But yesterday you did not teach them to me thus,’ he protested. ‘Must you then not rely upon me [As to what the letters are]? Then rely upon me with respect to the Oral [Torah] too’ (Berachot 31a).
Raba said, There are seven letters which require each three strokes, and these are they: Shin, Ayin, Tet, Nun, Zayin, Gimel, and Tsade.
Gimel is one of 7 letters which may be adorned with TAGIN, or little crowns, in the Torah, Tefillin or Mezzuzah scroll. These are called the SHAYNAYZ GAYTZ letters [Shin, Ayin, Tet, Nun, Zayin, Gimmel, and Tsade] Each one of these letters contains a Zayin. A TAG is composed of 3 strokes which themselves look like little Zayins.
There is a wonderful story in Talmud, which describes Moses ascending to Heaven to find God occupied in affixing TAGGIN to the letters of Torah:
Rab Judah said in the name of Rab, When Moses ascended on high he found the Holy One, blessed be He, engaged in affixing coronets to the letters. [These are the Taggin, i.e., three small strokes written on top of the letters ‘Shatnayz Gaytz’ in the form of a crown (Menachoth 29b).
Zohar -
When the Holy One, blessed be He, was about to make the world, all the letters of the Alphabet were still embryonic, and for two thousand years the Holy One, blessed be He, had contemplated them and toyed with them. When He came to create the world, all the letters presented themselves before Him in reversed order. ... Then appeared the letter Dalet as well as the letter Gimel and put forth similar claims. The Lord gave them a similar reply, saying: It should suffice you to remain side by side together, since “the poor will not cease from the land” (Deuteronomy 15:11), who will thus need benevolence. For the Dalet signifies poverty (Dalluth) and the Gimel beneficence (Gemul). Therefore separate not from each other, and let it suffice you that one maintains the other. (Zohar. 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:2b - 3a. p. 12).
Gimel is the giving Gimel. When I am in the Gimel in meditation we give all these gifts out to tons of people. They appear in my arms and we give them away. Very fulfilling.
AYIN is the 16th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 70 makes no sound, and means EYE or FOUNTAIN.
The Ayin is constructed of an elongated Yud (10) on the right and a Zayin (7) on the left.
In the alphabet the letter Samech is followed by the Ayin]. Samech Ayin [means] support [Semak] the poor [aniyim] (Shabbat t 104a).
In the alphabet the letter Ayin is followed by the letter Pey. But in (Lamentations 3:36-41; and Lamentations 4:16-17), which are written as an alphabetical acrostic, Pey (which means MOUTH) is placed before the Ayin (which means EYE). This is because when the spies went into the promised land they spoke with their mouths what they had not seen with their eyes (Sanhedrin 104b).
[The writing of the letters] must be ‘kethibah tammah’ [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the Aleph as an Ayin, the Ayin as an Aleph, (Shabbat 103b).
The Ayin is one of 5 letters: [Caf Mem Nun Pey Tsade] that have 2 forms - the regular [bent] form used in the beginning and middle of a word and the FINAL FORM,- SOFIT, used as the last letter of a word.
Ayin is one of 7 letters which may be adorned with TAGIN, or little crowns, in the Torah, Tefillin or Mezzuzah scroll. These are called the SHAYNAYZ GAYTZ letters [Shin, Ayin, Tet, Nun, Zayin, Gimmel, and Tsade] Each one of these letters contains a Zayin. A TAG is composed of 3 strokes which themselves look like little Zayins.
There is a wonderful story in Talmud, which describes Moses ascending to Heaven to find God occupied in affixing TAGGIN to the letters of Torah: Rab Judah said in the name of Rab, When Moses ascended on high he found the Holy One, blessed be He, engaged in affixing coronets to the letters. [These are the Taggin, i.e., three small strokes written on top of the letters ‘Shatnayz Gaytz’ in the form of a crown (Menachoth 29b).
The Ancient Holy One is called Ayin (nothing) (Zohar 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 3:158b).
Wisdom was completed from Ayin (nothing) (Zohar 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:30a).
In meditation one can sit in the elongated arc of Ayin, on the right, and the Zayin, arm, on the left, curves around to hold one in place. It feels very safe and secure. When you are firmly settled Ayin will rock you gently.
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